L.A. GIRL PRO CONCEAL HD CONCEALER

L.A. Girl has recently been surprising all kinds of makeup users with the quality of their PRO Conceal HD Concealer and I've been hearing people raving about this "high coverage, photo flattering, creaseless concealer" in makeup tutorials, blogposts and on basically every social media platform out there. Naturally, I had to try it.

The concealer is water based which usually doesn't work for me since I tend to prefer silicone based foundations and concealers on me personally. (Confused as to why that matters? Well, if you have a silicon based foundation, you have to match it with a silicon based concealer or otherwise it will separate and won't last/look good for very long on the skin. If you have a water based foundation, you look for a water based concealer. The same rule applies for moisturizer and primer; if it's got lots of oils or silicone in them then go for a silicone based foundation and concealer, otherwise it will, again, separate and ruin the point of everything you put on top). Still, I wanted to see if perhaps it could be something suitable for my kit since we (makeup artists) always need to have different textured foundations and concealers, to be able to offer a perfect match for every kind of skintype, wish and need.

If these didn't have the $3 price tag I would have said more about the lack of lighter shades. (None of them suits people lighter than a MAC NC15.) It's a shame, naturally, but since the price is so low I feel I can't be too hard. At the same time I haven't actually seen this many colour options from any budget brand we have here in Sweden (even though the price is three times as much up here). None of our most common high-end brands either for that matter, so for me the colour range is still a big plus. The concistency of these is not as fluid and creamy as I am used to but then again I am not used to water based concealers, and when using it together with MAC Face & Body (which is also water based) I find that it works very well and lasts a good amount of time.

When I was looking for swatches before placing my order, I couldn't find any on really fair skin so I wanted to share my own just in case there are more people out there just as light-skinned as me wanting to see what all of the shades looks like on someone who's usually having a hard time finding something light enough. For reference I am an NC15 in the summer but am currently lighter.

MAC x TOLEDO CALIGRAFY MASCARA

Have you seen the new Modern Twist Lash mascaras released with the MAC Toledo collection? I've been quite excited to try the wand so after finally trying it out I thought I'd share my experience. There are three colours available and this is Caligrafy - a navy blue with sparkles.

My main Plus about this is the longetivity - 11 hours later it looked just like when I applied it. The packaging is fun and while the curved brush may look intriguing, my eyes are small and lashes short and this brush is big and sadly too big for my eyes no matter what angle I try. Help was needed! Luckily, my sister has big eyes and longer lashes so I let her try it to see if it work differently on bigger eyes - apparently it does. A bit at least. While I personally had quite big trouble reaching all of the lashes and getting into the corners, it wasn't as much of a challenge for her but she too could have been more impressed with it, and so our current favourite mascaras still stands undefeated.

So thumbs up for longetivity! And for the glitter particles actually showing up on the lashes. Minus on the brush shape making it a little too much work for me personally.

IN MY KIT | SKINDINAVIA

"Your makeup looks exactly like when we left the house", a friend of mine said with a slightly bothered voice and a sigh on our way home from the nightclub. "Skindinavia!", I shouted from the backseat. Have you heard about it? Or have you got your own favourite setting spray? If so, please do leave a comment and tell me about it!

Let's talk about Skindinavia. I had been hearing and reading about it from makeup artists and beauty lovers around the globe - from beauty bloggers to an artist loving to use in on Lady Gaga for her shows. So, as I was searching for a great setting spray for my clients, naturally, I had to try it. I purchased the original, the one for oil control and the bridal. Do I notice any difference between the three? They're all cruelty, oil, paraben and sulfate-free and all three photograh well but the main difference and the one tip I have is that if you already have dry or combinated skin then (judging from my own experience) don't go for the Oil Control spray simply because you might get warm on the dancefloor or it feel it's better to go "all in" and buy the strongest one right away. I have combinated skin and noticed my skin was mysteriously getting dryer and remembered I had used the spray for oily skin the last 3 times I used any of them (for that dance floor reason I mentioned) and even though it did keep the shine away, my skin did not appreciate it. When using the original one though, my skin have no complaints. But if you do have very oily skin then I strongly recommend trying the setting spray for oil control as it really does help to absorb and reduce the oil reaching the surface.

"The makeup looked the same all day and night!", one of the first brides I dolled up after adding the spray to my kit last summer told me. Now, it's important to remember that how long your makeup wears depends on more than just one factor - the weather, what you're doing that day, the state of your skin that particular day and of course the quality of your makeup. And although using the right makeup products is key to a good bridal makeup - and makeup in general - it turns out a good setting spray like Skindinavia does affect the longetivity by a couple of hours and allows me to do less touch-ups. Needless to say it has become a must-have in my kit. I love it!

Would I repurchase? Definitely! Who would I recommend it to? Because of the fact that it is a bit drying I wouldn't use any of them on very dry skin but I'd say anyone with normal, combinated or oily skin could benefit from these and if you have normal or combinated skin like me, the original makeup saver will be good enough. You can find the setting sprays here. An extra plus for the great customer service!

VIVA GLAM RIHANNA

As I mentioned in my previous post on the collaborations between MAC Cosmetics and Rihanna, they have chosen her as their new VIVA GLAM spokesperson for 2014. As per usual when it comes to the VIVA GLAM line they try to create shades that will suit most people and went for a frosty, blue-red lipstick and Lipglass this time. It's creamy, feels light and comfortable on the lips and indeed a shade that suits a lot of skintones. I somehow get the feeling of an "everyday" kind of red - perhaps because of the formula or perhaps because I am personally more used to darker shades of red. I find it really nice either way and haven't found a dupe in my collection so I believe this is definitely worth checking out - even if you didn't already plan on getting it simply out of the collectors point of view.

And can we please talk about the packaging? Are you seeing the beauty of this thing? No, probably not, because it can not really be captured in a photo - at least I can't. It has kind of a velvet look and has to be the absolute most gorgeous lipstick bullet MAC has ever created. So even if you're not buying this, please just go to your nearest MAC counter/MAC store and just LOOK at it. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. (Yes, I get too damn excited about these things.)

The lipstick will be available from January 21 in the US (maccosmetics.com) and February 8 here in Skandinavia (maccosmetics.se). Go to your local counter/store to find out the exact date for Your country.

SWATCHES | OPI GWEN STEFANI COLLECTION

OPI is rapidly becoming known as the number one brand for introducing us to new formulas, always pushing forward to set a new trend. One of their latest hits were the Liquid Sand nail polish which, naturally, many brands have been copying since the launch, and since then OPI have been releasing a couple of Liquid Sand shades with almost every collection. This collections has none but a good variety of formulas nonetheless - and naturally a brand new one!

During my early teen years Gwen Stefani was always "that cool chick" - always a bit different from the other artists at that time (well, at least to me), always unique and fun. I am therefore quite excited about her teaming up with OPI for a collection of seven limited edition nail lacquers. The signature red and a trace of her pink hair are two of the six shades I have here to show you today.

Despite my imprinted memories of the pink haired Gwen singing about how "I kind of always knew I'd end up your ex-girlfriend", most people probably think of red lips and matching nails when they hear her name. Her signature red OPI polish is called Over & Over A-Gwen and will be available in a special box including black swarowski crystals and different shaped gold, silver and pewter studs along with nail glue to make your own unique nail design. Click here to see a photo of it.

The collection includes another two glossy cremes and one is I Sing In Color - a dark chocolate cherry shade. Yeah, you guessed it.. of course the vampy one is my favourite! It doesn't matter how many dupes there might be or how many I already have in my stash - I'll always love a rich burgundy, dark eggplant, dark wine and the like.

The third creme is called Hey Baby and she's a glossy medium pink. Feel like you've seen it before? Well, if you already own OPI I'm India Mood For Love or Nicole By OPI Spring Break then it seems you already have a dupe.

The collection also features two semi-matte satin finish designed to be worn without topcoat. 4 in the Morning is a charcoal black that doesn't look so harsh because of the finish. I might actually replace this swatch since it seems it had not dried completely when I took the photo and just noticed it is supposed to look more matte than this - a bit like leather actually. Click here to see more photos of the satin finish.

The second satin polish is Love. Angel. Music. Baby - a golden hue that brings my mind to the music video of The Sweet Escape which I currently wish I could live in because of my obsessing with gold for the past couple of months. It's a gold with a silvery shimmer and very, very similar in colour to Honey Ryder from the Bond Girls (Liquid Sand) collection - the finish being the difference.

Lastly we have a sparkly top coat and personally I don't see a whole lot of Gwen in this - or rather my version of Gwen - but a glitter is aaalways fun and a holo glitter even better. Try it top of 4 in the morning if that satin finish is not for you.

Push And Shove is the name of the seventh lacquer in the collection (which I unfortunately don't have to show you) and also the lacquer that has the NEW formula. I don't know if I can say that it is the star of the collection since I haven't tried it yet, but I would guess it's the most discussed.Push and Shove is a chome hue but requires a special base coat - Lay Down That Base - to get into its full glory. Apparently one thin coat of this + two thin coats of Push And Shove will give a mirrored finish similar to what we have so far only been able to get using MINX nail foil. Judging by swatch photos like this one, this one and this one I feel like the limit of what you can achieve with nailpolish alone has been reached. It makes me think of the silvery 90's fashion and the accessories being sold today inspired by it such as backpacks, shoes etc and that makes the nostalgia-loving, materialistic little part of my heart in a shopping mood.

All of the swatches has 2 coats. The collection will be out in stores mid January.

MAC RETRO MATTE LIPSTICK - ALL FIRED UP

As you might know, MAC Ruby Woo is one of the most popular red lipsticks both on and off the runway and inspired by this MAC released a collection of eye-catching shades to create that feminine yet fierce look this fall. Eight shades in total along with eight matching Pro Longwear lip pencils makes it a collection worth checking out if you haven't already - especially for those who really need their lipstick to stay put.

This is All Fired Up - a warm, reddish fuchsia. This one surprised me a lot since it was described as a "bright fuchsia matte" to which my reaction when first reading about it was more of a shrugging "meh" than something I'd put on my have-to-have list for private use. That quickly changed when I tried it on! It is a lot more red than I initally thought it would be and gives a stunning matte look to your lips. It is by far one of my favourite lipsticks this year and the best of all; it stays in their permament line!

RIHANNA HEARTS MAC

After releasing the classic red Riri Woo lipstick in the beginning of 2013 and following up with a three-piece lipstick collection for the summer, it's now time for Rihanna to drop her highly anticipated fall collection including 4 lipsticks (- 2 of which we've seen before), 2 eyeshadow quads, a Lipglass, two lip pencils, a new Cream Colour Base, a powder blush as well as a powder blush duo, 2 makeup brushes, 2 pair of lashes, some liners, pencils and my favourite mascara in a limited edition packaging - the Extended Play Lash.

In the photos above I am showing you two of these items; Hibiscus Kiss Powder Blush Duo and Talk That Talk lipstick. For those of you lipstick lovers who are curious about dupes, I wanted to share a photo I took of some MAC lipsticks - 5th picture. In the top row (from the left) you have Rebel, Media and Talk That Talk. Bottom row is Cyber and Smoked Purple. What I noticed is that just like Smoked Purple is a more matte version of Cyber, Talk That Talk is a more matte version of Media. The colour looks the same, to me it's just the formula that's different. Now I know it will slightly differ depending on your skintone but that's what it looks like on my NC15 skin. MAC Currant lip pencil is also close in shade!

The duo blush is a lovely peachy-pink-coral colour plus a beautiful, medium tan shade - and I am already thinking about getting my hands on a backup! I absolutely love this!

The collection is set to be released on October 3rd in the US and around the same time internationally - in Sweden we'll get it on Oct 1st (maccosmetics.se) and on Oct 8 (Kicks.se).

SWATCHES | MAC SO SUPREME - PLAYTIME

To those of you who loves a glossy, lightweight lipstick, check out the new Sheen Supreme lipsticks from MAC and their So Supreme collection. This is Playtime - a bright medium pink with blue undertones. It's got a fine, fine shimmer and is my latest addition to the lipstick family.

ILLAMASQUA HYDRA VEIL

Well, at least that's what one of the make-up artists from the Selfridge Illamasqua counter told me when visiting a couple of weeks back but I would most definitely see why if it turned out to be true.

I had been really curious about Hydra Veil since the release (and honestly a lot because of just the name itself.. haha) and I'm so happy I decided to buy it. It's an instantly rehydrating gel which is also said to provide the optimal base for your make-up. If you have very dry skin and you feel like you're missing that moist, dewy look then I really would recommend trying this. My experience is that it really does add moist to your skin and it does work very well as a makeup base due to the kind of sticky texture it leaves on your skin - and you don't need a lot of product. Happy to say it's one of the products that works just as well as I had imagined! And for the make-up artists reading this; it's a dream using as a base on a dry-skin bride!

P.S. Keeping it in your refrigerator is a little bit of heaven on hungover days. Wonderfully cooling and an insant refresher!

If you're keen on taking a look at the ingredients list, I've written it down for you to inspect HERE.

SWATCHES | OPI SAN FRANCISCO COLLECTION

Any favourites? My personal ones are the two absolutely amazing reds of the collection; Lost On Lombard and First Date At The Golden Gate, the deep ink-blue Incognito In Sausalito and the burgundy purple In The Cable Car-Pool Lane. I have a feeling I'll be wearing these four exclusively the rest of the year. Stunners!!

Fifteen new shades makes it quite a big fall collection and three new Liquid Sand lacquers are presented - the matte blue (in the last photo) being my favourite. Once again I think OPI did a great job with the shades and - judging on the praise heard when showing this to people around me - incorporating something for everyone. I guess you're not a Royal Warrant Holder without a reason.

The San Francisco fall collection will be available in stores by the end of the summer.

REVIEW | COLOUR XTREME HAIR ART SPRAY

Blonde, red, dark purple, strawberry blonde and brown - those have been the colours of my hair so far - and now I can add BLUE to the list thanks to these coloured hairsprays from Colour Xtreme that I've been looking forward to try out.

I do have quite the fascination with wigs and the possibility to change your hair colour/style after how you're feeling from day to day [yes, yes, even though my hair has now been blonde for the past 12 years] so the Blue, the White and the Silver were my picks when doing some online shopping a while back and the Blue definitely is my favourite so far since you really get the colour you're expecting.. and if you prefer it lighter then just add some of the White spray on top. The White is also great for spraying onto areas which may need some light if your base colour would happen to get a little patchy or if, let's say, you're going for a blue or pink dip-dye and want the colours to be baby blue and baby pink. The Silver one was a joke and I am genuinely chocked that this is even allowed to be on the market. No colour whatsoever and the glitter was microscopic.

So is there a big difference - judging on quality and how it looks when applied to the hair - from those kinds of coloured hairsprays you can get from places like masquerade costumes stores? No.. I wouldn't really say it is. It gives the same kind of texture to your hair - you know that kind of straw-y feel? Yeah, that's it. And these, too, can stain your clothes even if only temporarily so I'd say the best way to wear them is with your hair up. Am I disappointed they were not more improved? Yes.. but not to the point where I wouldn't buy them again; I most definitely will - both for personal use and for my make-up artist kit. Being a 90's kid I'm still a bit weak for some of the 90's trends and to just swirl your hair up in two buns spraying them pink and orange are one of those things that just makes everything a little more fun. I love it.

♦ HOW?You simply spray it onto your hair with a 20-30 cm distance and please use it BEFORE putting on your makeup (that is if you're using it all over as I did). AND yes, the blue one IS apparently showing up on dark hair as well! Wohoo!♦ WHERE?For Swedes, Eleven.se has got the lowest price and is where I bought mine. Abroad you can find them at Boots, Urban Outfitters, ASOS and other websites along with their own colourxtreme.co.uk if you're in the UK.

MAC introducing new shades of Studio Fix Fluid

Studio Fix Fluid NW13, Studio Fix Fluid NC15

As I've mentioned before I've been loving the MAC Studio Fix Fluid foundation for quite some time now but fairly recently discovered that even the NC15 is a tad too dark during these winter months so I was really excited when I heard they were releasing even lighter shades. I've heard of many people who had problems wearing this simply because even the lightest shades were way too dark. Now they carry both NW10(!) and NW13 (which I am showing in the photo above). Perfect for all of us fair ladies! My only wish is that they also would have added an NC13 but by mixing the NW13 with my NC15 I am able to get my perfect "winter shade". Thrilled to see an improved range of shades and can't wait to get the Snow White-ish NW10.

Fair skin and looking for a medium coverage foundation? Pop by your nearest MAC counter and ask for a sample of these new shades or have them try it out on your face right on the spot.

SPRING '13 | MAC ARCHIES GIRLS COLLECTION

Even though it turned out my mom knows more about "Archie's Girls" than I do, I have been looking forward to this collection a lot. A lot. And even though personally I prefer shades with cool undertones on my face, I do love a good peachy colour and that's why I - yes, honestly - screamed a little when I recieved the "Flatter Me" Pearlmatte Face Powder and the "Betty Bright" [light vibrant peach] lipstick. The lipstick is bright as the name tells but still not too frightening if you're not used to a major amount of colour.. And for the face powder, the colour of the hearts turned up more on the skin than I would have imagined but it's still quite sheer and buildable - just how I like it. It might not show up a lot on dark skin tones but it will probably work as a highlighter. For me it's a blush and highlighter combined. I love it!

I am desperate to get my hands on the Cream Soda blush as well - the name itself being a just as big reason as the colour. Yes, the nerd in me has spoke.. Bare with me folks. And happy Valentine's Day everyone!